The army and air chiefs’ joint sortie in a combat aircraft on Sunday was, for all the hype surrounding it, a violation of security protocol, military veterans said on Monday.

“Great photo-op, but violation of rules applicable since 1963 for senior officers’ let
alone chiefs not to be flying together,” former lieutenant-general H.S. Panag posted on X.

“The rules were framed when two Lt Gens, one Maj Gen, one AVM (air vice-marshal) and one Brigadier apart from the pilot lost their lives,” he added, referring to a helicopter crash of November 23, 1963, in Poonch that left no survivors.

Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh and General Upendra Dwivedi had flown for 45 minutes in the indigenously built light combat aircraft Tejas on the eve of the Aero India Show 2025 in Bengaluru, marking a first in history.

Replying to Panag, a retired colonel, Amit Kumar, posted sarcastically: “Rules are for fools Sirs… People with such mindsets are progressing in our Nation.”

A former brigadier told The Telegraph: “According to security protocol, the two chiefs are not even permitted to travel together on the ground in the same vehicle.”

After Sunday’s shared flight, when the air chief flew the Tejas with the army chief as his passenger, General Dwivedi described it as the “best moment” of his life. He said the experience had led him to regret not having opted to join the air force.

A post on X from a social media user, K.P. Singh, said: “So sad to see nowadays rules being violated by those who are supposed to instill discipline in others.”

Replying to Panag, another user, Arun Sahgal, said people should repose faith in the locally made fighter aircraft Tejas and not deny the service chiefs a “little fun”. The winking face emoji he added to the post suggested he was being ironic.

The Tejas is a multi-role combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for India’s air force and navy.

Panag responded to Sahgal by saying the key question was how many Tejas aircraft had been manufactured till now. He underlined that the first Tejas was flown in 2001, all of 17 years after its conception, and that the country hadn’t manufactured even the first 40 aircraft yet.

“As Gabar would say - Kitne Tejas ban gaye hain?! Air Chief — First (Tejas) aircraft flew in 2001 — 17 years (after conception in 1984),” Panag posted.

“Then, the induction started another 15 years later — 2016. Today, we are in 2024 (sic), I do not have the first 40 aircraft also. This is the production capability.”

The four army officers killed in the 1963 crash were Lt Gen. Daulet Singh, GOC-in-C, Western Command; Lt Gen. Bikram Singh, Corps Commander, Western Command; Maj. Gen. N.K.D. Nanavati, commander of an infantry division in Jammu and Kashmir; and Brig. S.R. Uberoi, commander of an infantry brigade in Jammu and Kashmir.

The air force lost an outstanding officer in Air Vice-Marshal E.W. Pinto, Air Officer Commanding, Western Air Command. The French-made Alouette helicopter was piloted by Flight Lieutenant S.S. Sodhi, who too died.

The chopper reportedly “got entangled in a telephone cable and crashed” in Gulpur, near the ceasefire line in Poonch. The officers had been on an inspection tour.